Jan Jorgensen (1-0) is no stranger to the sound of two burly heavyweight athletes clashing in the midst of a heated battle for real estate. That was, in a nutshell, his job when he played defensive end for Brigham Young University, pushing, pulling, juking, and spinning his way past his opponent to sack the quarterback. Now, his aim isn’t to move past his opponents. It’s to break them.
Jorgensen’s foray into the sport began in September of 2010, beating fellow collegiate football player Jerzy Siewierski by technical knockout in the third round of an amateur bout at Showdown Fights: Respect. He followed up the victory with a first round technical knockout of Felix Guel four months later at Showdown Fights: New Blood, then submitted Jeff Prescott in the first round at Showdown Shootout in April, improving his amateur record to 3-0.
In his pro debut at Showdown Fights: Evolution in November, Jorgensen continued his dominance, defeating Lolo Tuiaki by technical knockout when he couldn’t answer the bell in the third round. It was an expected outcome considering Jorgensen’s talented background and surprisingly well-rounded skill-set.
Feeding off a high school wrestling background and the skills it takes to move powerful, explosive offensive lineman out of his path, the 25-year-old is expectedly effective in the takedown department. He has a basic understanding of position on the ground, and he can control opponents from the top while he moves to more dominant positions or beats up opposition with ground and pound.
His stand-up game is surprisingly diverse for a novice fighter. He can work from the clinch, the Thai Plum, and from distance, mixing up his strikes and throwing combinations. He also possesses sufficient conditioning, enough to keep a pace that surpasses his opponent’s rate of attack.
The jury is still out on whether Jorgensen can compete against better competition. Fortunately, the division isn’t deep, and a few more wins should bring bigger names into the mix. Despite only having one fight under his belt as a pro, Jorgensen is worth keeping tabs on. He could make considerable progress in 2012. Look for him at Showdown Fights: Breakout on February 24 when he battles fellow prospect Aaron Magro.
Footage of Jan Jorgensen after the jump…
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – #9 – #10 – |
#1 – Rony Mariano #2 – Aljamain Sterling #3 – Chris Holdsworth #4 – Josh Hill #5 – Fabiano Fernandes #6 – Claudio Ledesma #7 – Sirwan Kakai #8 – Kyoji Horiguchi #9 – Leandro Hygo #10 – Pedro Munhoz |
#1 – Hacran Dias #2 – Joey Gambino #3 – Brandon Bender #4 – Lance Palmer #5 – Jim Alers #6 – Anthony Gutierrez #7 – Max Holloway #8 – John Teixeira #9 – Cody Bollinger #10 – Bubba Jenkins |
#1 – Fabricio Guerreiro #2 – Alessandro Ferreira #3 – Adriano Martins #4 – Justin Salas #5 – Neilson Gomes #6 – Eduard Folayang #7 – Zorobabel Moreira #8 – Anton Kuivanen #9 – Jordan Rinaldi #10 – J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – Andrey Koreshkov #2 – Dhiego Lima #3 – Brandon Thatch #4 – Nordine Taleb #5 – Hernani Perpetuo #6 – Brock Jardine #7 – Alan Jouban #8 – Mohsen Bahari #9 – Andre Santos #10 – Stephen Thompson |
#1 – Antonio Braga Neto #2 – Marcelo Guimaraes #3 – Claudio Silva #4 – Bojan Velickovic #5 – Ildemar Alcantara #6 – Michal Materla #7 – Elvis Mutapcic #8 – Tor Troeng #9 – Jack Hermansson #10 – Tim Ruberg |
#1 – Wagner Prado #2 – Phelipe Lins #3 – Tom DeBlass #4 – Misha Cirkunov #5 – Kyle Cerminara #6 – Robert Drysdale #7 – Artur Alibulatov #8 – Thiago Perpetuo #9 – Steve Bosse #10 – Juha Saarinen |
#1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – #9 – Jan Jorgensen #10 – David Oliva |
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Jan Jorgensen vs. Felix Guel
Jan Jorgensen vs. Jerzy Siewieski
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